Pull-out window frame

ABSTRACT

A window frame which is quickly assembled and disassembled comprising channeled side pieces connected at their ends to form a frame, each side piece receiving an edge portion of a window pane and being held in place with respect to adjacent structure by hook and loop fastener means.

United States Patent 1 Perina [451 July 17,1973

[ PULL-OUT WINDOW FRAME [75] Inventor: Joseph Perina, Huntington, N.Y.

[73] Assignee: American Velcro, Inc., Manchester,

[22] Filed: Apr. 5, 1971 [21] Appl. No.1 130,953

[52] US. Cl. 49/465 [51] Int. Cl. E05c 21/02 [58] Field of Search49/463, 464, 465, 49/466, 501; 160/369, 371, 354, 381; 52/127,

125, 475, 476, 498; 24/DIG. 18

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,789 6/1955 Boyle et al49/463 X 3,475,810 11/1969 Mates 24/D1G. 18 1,708,363 4/1929 Everhard160/381 908,260 12/1908 Hellwig 49/463 3,137,901 6/1964 Malachowski49/463 X 2,980,181 4/1961 Greenstein et al 49/463 X FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 234,044 2/1960 Australia 160/371 Primary Examiner-David JWilliamowsky Assistant Examiner-Philip C. Kannan Alt0meyPennie, Edmonds,Morton, Taylor and Adams [57] ABSTRACT A window frame which is quicklyassembled and disassembled comprising channeled side pieces connected attheir ends to form a frame, each side piece receiving an edge portion ofa window pane and being held in place with respect to adjacent structureby hook and loop fastener means.

5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PATENTEU JUL 1 1 I975 MPH I EEIAIA INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION It is likely that in the event ofserious accident involving the overturning of railroad trains, buses,and other like vehicles carrying passengers a number of windows of suchvehicles will become shattered. In order to evacuate passengers from theinterior of such damaged vehicles, it is often necessary to removepassengers through windows which contain fragments of glass within theframe or sash which of course is extremely hazardous. It is the purposeof the present application to construct a novel window frame or sashwhich in the event of the breakage of the glass pane readily permitspiece-wise removal of the frame and broken glass fragments.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention, thereis provided a window frame or sash comprising a plurality of side pieceseach being channeled to receive the edge portion of a window pane. Eachside piece is equipped with a strip of hook and/or loop fastenermaterial along its outside facing edge, the adjacent structure of thevehicle or bus being equipped with mating hook and/or loop fastenermeans. Each side piece is clipped to an adjacent piece at adjoining endsand is quickly disconne'ctable therefrom so that in the event of windowpane breakage, each side piece can be stripped individually from theadjacent mounting structure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective view showingthe pull-out window frame of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section taken in the direction of the arrow 2-2of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation of a typical corner part of thewindow frame of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a section taken in the direction of arrows 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 shows an alternate form of side piece for holding a window pane;and

FIG. 6 illustrates the separation which occurs between the side piece ofthe invention and the adjacent structure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBOIDMENT Referring now to the drawing andinitially to FIG. 1 thereof, a pull-out window frame 10 constructedaccording to the invention has been illustrated. The frame 10 consistsof four side pieces 11 of extruded aluminumi Each side piece defines achannel I2. In theembodiment of FIG. I, the channel 12 receives a rubberliner 13 having a groove therein for the reception of an edge portion ofa window pane 14.

The adjacent structure 15 which may be of a vehicle or building isprovided with an L-shaped recess as shown. Within the recess and alongthe surface toward the exterior of the vehicle or building is secured astrip 16 of loop fastener material. Each sidepiece 11 has attached toits outward facing side a mating strip of hook fastener 17 which whenthe side piece 11 is pressedinto the recess within structure 15, willcause the side piece 11 to be securely held in place with respect tosuchadjacent structure.

The comers of each side piece 11 are mitered in the usual fashion andare held together by means of a spring clip 18 which is received withinslots 19 in the exterior of each side piece 11 at their comers. Eachside piece 11 has attached thereto a handle 20.

Aswill be seen with particular reference to FIGS. 1 and 6, in the eventa window pane becomes shattered, each side piece I I can be readilypulled from its fastening within the adjacent structure 15 by firstremoving the clips 18 and by exerting an outward pulling force upon eachhandle 20. During this process as shown in FIG. 6 it is preferred topeel the side pieces 11 top to bottom or side to side, that is to say toprogressively separate the hook and loop fastener elements 16 and 17.During such removal, it may be desirable to use a knife edge 21 toassist in separating the hooks and loops of the fastener elements 16 and17.

FIG. 5 shows an alternate form of side piece 22 which is integrallymolded of a suitable material such as rubber or other plastic material.The side pieces 22 directly receive a pane 23 within a peripheral grooveprovided for that purpose. Packing 24 helps cushion the edges of thewindow pane. A seal 25 prevents the passage of moisture between the sidepieces 22 and the ad- 25 jacent structure 15'. Hook and loop fastenerelements I6 and 17' are attached to the side pieces 22 and to theadjacent structure 15' in the same manner as has been described withrespect to the embodiment of FIG. 1.

In accordance with the foregoing, the pull-out frame of the inventionpermits quick and easy piece-wise removal of the window pane in case ofemergency where it is necessary to clear the window frame opening ofbroken glass. The window frame of the invention therefore shouldcontribute to the safety of vehicles such as buses and trains and mayalso have application in the construction of buildings where it isdesirable to be able to replace broken windows in a quick manner.

It will be understood that the above description has related toparticular embodiments of the invention and is therefore merelyrepresentative. In order to appreciate fully the scope of the invention,reference should be made to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a window sash wherein the edges of said sash are received withinan L-shaped recess defined in an adjacent structure to present a flushsurface with respect to said structure, the improvement wherein saidsash is constructed and is secured within said recess for readypiecewise removal from said recess in the event that there is breakageof the window pane contained by said sash, said improvement comprisingsaid sash consisting of separate side pieces removably connected to eachother at adjacent ends to form a frame, a channel defined in each sidepiece for reception of a window pane, first hook and-loop fastener meansconnected to said structure along a sash facing surface of said recess,second mating hook and loop fastener means connected to at least one ofsaid side pieces along a surface thereof facing said sash facing surfacefor securing each of said side pieces within said recess in flushmounted relation with respect to said structure, quick disconnect meansfor removably connecting said adjacent ends of said side piecestogether, said quick disconnect means being accessible and removablesolely from the outside of said sash while said sash lies within saidL-shaped recess; and a handle connected to each side piece upon cess.

3. The frame according to claim 1 wherein said quick disconnect means isa spring clip and adjacent ends of said side pieces define apertures toreceive said clip.

4. The frame according to claim 1 wherein said side pieces connect toform a rectangle.

5. The frame according to claim 4 wherein said side piece receives aplastic member defining a channel for receiving an edge portion of saidwindow pane.

1. In a window sash wherein the edges of said sash are received withinan L-shaped recess defined in an adjacent structure to present a flushsurface with respect to said structure, the improvement wherein saidsash is constructed and is secured within said recess for readypiecewise removal from said recess in the event that there is breakageof the window pane contained by said sash, said improvement comprisingsaid sash consisting of separate side pieces removably connected to eachother at adjacent ends to form a frame, a channel defined in each sidepiece for reception of a window pane, first hook and loop fastener meansconnected to said structure along a sash facing surface of said recess,second mating hook and loop fastener means connected to at least one ofsaid side pieces along a surface thereof facing said sash facing surfacefor securing each of said side pieces within said recess in flushmounted relation with respect to said structure, quick disconnect meansfor removably connecting said adjacent ends of said side piecestogether, said quick disconnect means being accessible and removablesolely from the outside of said sash while said sash lies within saidL-shaped recess; and a handle connected to each side piece upon an outerportion thereof for permitting the piecewise withdrawal of each sidepiece from said recess after said disconnect means have been detachedfrom the adjacent corners of each side piece and after said window panehas become broken.
 2. The frame according to claim 1 wherein said firstand second hook and loop fastener means is in strip form and extendscontinuously along a sash facing surface of each side piece of saidframe and along the facing surface of said mounting structure withinsaid recess.
 3. The frame according to claim 1 whereiN said quickdisconnect means is a spring clip and adjacent ends of said side piecesdefine apertures to receive said clip.
 4. The frame according to claim 1wherein said side pieces connect to form a rectangle.
 5. The frameaccording to claim 4 wherein said side piece receives a plastic memberdefining a channel for receiving an edge portion of said window pane.